Online learning can open up a world of opportunities for people who want to boost their career or professional profile. Online education seems to be an appealing option for many as there are a number of courses available covering everything from history to accountancy to coding that is readily available at your fingertips. But still, these courses are often questioned if they’re worth taking or are they as good as the rest?
When online education initially started, there were many course providers that started popping up and started flooding the education market with meaningless certificate courses. This created a stigma that all online courses are not reputable and useless. But the reality is that online courses can be reputable and worthwhile as there are a couple of reputable institutions that have begun to offer valuable courses.
It is really important to take into account what you want to learn when considering taking up an online class. An online class can be great for some topics of learning but can be absolutely unsuitable for some subjects. For example, technical courses are perfectly suitable for online learning and are also the most in-demand in the present. In such a case, taking an online course is a great way to learn something new in your spare time. Subjects that don’t require physical presence are a great option when it comes to online classes like literature, marketing, history, etc. It is important to consider the importance of practical and real-life training/experience before taking up an online course.
Another important point needed to be considered is accreditation. One should stick to reputed course providers, institutes and universities, that have been accredited by a national body. There are a lot of unreliable websites & course providers which might not add any value to your learning. It is important to research a little about the course providers.
But the real question is if these online certificate courses are worth adding to your CV/resume. The answer is YES. The only thing a potential employer is interested in seeing is if you have a genuine interest, commitment, and understanding of your line of work. Few things demonstrate this, which includes giving up your free time to become better at what you do and hence these certificates can be really beneficial to add to your CV. Online education isn’t limited to degrees only. Short certification courses in topics like art, excel, photoshop, and photography can all be positive for your resume. These certifications are proof of your skills and dedication, and employers do recognize that.
While the stigma around online learning still remains, we shouldn’t let that stand in our way. Online courses are a great way to learn new skills and boost your career. Just choose the right subject/topic and institution.